


Karedevil Week-2018 (karedevil4ever)

by Avi



Category: Daredevil (TV), Karedevil - Fandom
Genre: AU, F/M, Karedevil Week, Ship Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-25
Updated: 2018-08-25
Packaged: 2019-07-02 13:45:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15797754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avi/pseuds/Avi
Summary: Each chapter is from a prompt for Karedevil Week. On tumblr I am known as karedevil4ever, so if you’re looking for my stories, you’ve come to the right place. :)





	1. Day 1- Friendship

“That was almost as bad as the time we drank the eel!” Karen laughed, slapping Foggy on the shoulder.

“Didn’t we go to Matt’s place?” Foggy asked, a huge grin splitting his face as he turned towards her.

“No…” Karen smiled disbelievingly, flickering her eyes towards Matt. “There’s no way we did!”

Matt chuckled at their antics, simply basking in the togetherness of the conversation. It had been too long since they had all just enjoyed each other like this.

“Matt, how come you never join us for our weekly drunkenly-antics?” Foggy asked with some tentativeness.

“Weekly? Wow you guys are starting to sound like alcoholics.” He teased, attempting to change the subject.

“Oh, come on Matt. Don’t change the subject. You should really come out with us tonight.” Karen suggested hopefully, as always seeing straight through him.

“Really?” He questioned, looking at their beaming, wishful faces. “Are you sure I’m ready to be apart of one of your crazy adventures yet?”

“Yes! You’re more than ready, in fact your overdue!” His best friend exclaimed grabbing him by the shoulders. “In fact, we’re leaving right now!”

“Woah, woah, woah!” Matt interrupted, stopping himself in front of the door. “This is really sudden Foggy, I’ve got a lot of work to get done-“

“Please, Matt?” Karen asked as nicely as she could, grabbing his shirt sleeve with both of her hands. Begging would normally be beneath her, but for Matt to hang out with them just this once, maybe she could make an exception.

Matt’s blush did not go unnoticed by Foggy. The way he lightly scratched at his beard before finally answering. “Well, alright. How could I refuse an offer like that?”

Karen’s smile beamed, patting Matt’s shoulder before rushing to get her coat. “Awesome! You are so not gonna regret this!”

“There’s like a thirty percent chance we’ll all die.” Foggy grimaced, practically pushing Matt out the door. It had been far too long since he and Matt had hung out together.

“If we die I’m never forgiving you guys.” Matt fakingly warned, playing up his grumpiness.

“I’m Matt, and we’re not allowed to have fun!” Karen imitated in a low voice, before playfully shoving him.

“Wait, no, it’s more like…” Foggy started, wanting to show off his work from years of imitating Matt. “I’m too busy to go out tonight. Sloth is a sin, you know. I’m way too guilty to have any fun.”

Karen let out a laugh that was almost so hard it was a snort. Josie’s bar came into view then, and all of them felt a rush of comfort at the sight.

“Go ahead guys, keep bullying me. We’ll see how far you two get without me.” He teased, turning his head from them.

“Aw, we’re sorry Matt. We won’t do it again.” Karen continued to laugh, wrapping her arms across his shoulders as they stopped in front of the bright, neon lights, indicating they had arrived.

“But me and Karen would still totally kick ass without you, just for the record.” Foggy clarified, opening the door for everybody.

The bar smelled just as moldy as it always had, the way the musky air seemed to cling to your skin as you walked, the clinking of glasses and low murmurs from voices in the shadows putting the whole gang at ease.

“There’s no place like home.” Foggy smiled so contentedly, he might’ve died there and been happy.

“I’ll drink to that!” Karen agreed, bumping her fist with Foggy’s. “What do you guys want? I’m buying the first round.”

“Ooh, well if you’re buying I’ll have whatever’s most expensive.” Foggy ordered, already pulling the pool sticks down from the wall.

“Welp, Foggy’s not getting anything. Matt?” She asked, completely ignoring Foggy’s “Hey!” In the middle of her speech.

“Just a Bud Lite for me.” He shrugged. He’d never been a big beer drinker.

“Alright, drinks coming right up!” She cheered, rushing off to order.

They both smiled after her, a warmness in their hearts that hadn’t been there before growing.

“What would we do without her?” Matt sighed, accepting the stick Foggy tapped him with.

“I don’t know. Probably be depressedly working right now.” Foggy guessed, chalking his stick’s tip. “You up for getting your ass kicked?”

“Always.” Matt smiled cheekily, swinging his stick lazily around as he waited to hear the clacks of the balls running into each other.

“Here you go, boys.” Karen returned with drinks in hand, slamming them down on the pool table. “We should have a toast.”

“A toast?” Matt asked, wishing he could see just how happy she looked. From the way her voice sounded it must have been beautiful.

“Yeah. Like, for our friendship, or something.” She shakily suggested, a shy smile on her face.

“Alright, then!” Foggy started, scooping his glass up. “To friendship or something!”

“To friendship or something!” Matt and Karen laughed, clinking all their bottles together before chugging them down.

As Foggy made the first move, he could hear Karen let out a sigh, her heart rate increasing as she slowly lowered her head onto his shoulder.

“Thanks for coming out with us tonight. It really means a lot.” She thanked, her skin flushed as he moved to rest his scruffy chin on top of her head.

“No it’s- I should start coming out with you guys more. It’s just I’m always so busy with work and-“

“Look who’s too guilty to have fun.” She teasingly interrupted, lifting her head to look at him. “Thank you, Matt. I mean it.”

“Yeah. No problem Karen.”

They shared a smile, Matt’s hand finding it way to Karen’s waist.

“Just try and beat that!” Foggy suddenly shouted, slapping Matt on the back, interrupting his moment with their assistant.

Matt looked down at Karen, who only grinned excitedly at him, completely reimmersed in their game of pool.

”Let’s kick his ass!”


	2. Day 2- Love

He never wanted this night to end. The time they had spent together, so unbelievably happy, was something out of a dream for him.

A night like this should have never happened. He had stopped dreaming they would a long time ago.

But then her hand is in his again, and she’s resting her head on his shoulder. Every now and then she forgets that he’s not supposed to be able to see her and tries to share a smile with him. It’s a struggle not to grin at her forgetfulness.

They sit down at the staircase in front of her apartment, just to spend even a second longer with each other. She was so close his heart was about to burst.

“Alright, I’m gonna kiss ya.” He finally let the grin he had been containing split across his face, reaching for her.

Instantly she was like putty in his hands, leaning into him and following after his touch, as if she couldn’t stand to be away from the contact on her skin.

She tasted like cinnamon sugar, soft and sweet under his tongue.

He tasted indescribable, familiar yet something frighteningly new to be found in the kiss.

They broke apart, both gasping for air before they couldn’t stop themselves from yearning for more of this wonderful contact.

These kisses were short and simple, affectionate and full of love. He did love her, he realized then as she smiled into his lips.

Her hair trailed onto his shoulder as he wrapped her into his arms, all of his senses excitedly realizing the fact as if alarm bells were ringing off in his head.

They flowed into and against each other so seamlessly it felt like they really were one person. Her hand found his amongst the chaos, fingers curling around each other as if to say, I’m here.

She broke the kiss off first, resting her forehead against his as her smile seemed to become irreversible.

He never wanted her to look at him in any way except for how she was looking at him right now. She pierced right into his soul and he didn’t even mind. There was no urge to cover himself with his glasses, only to simply exist, bare before her.

Then she invited him up, and the daydream began to crumble.

His scars began to sear his flesh in remindence, the thought of her seeing his body the way it was now enough to give him shivers.

How quickly would the love in her eyes turn to revulsion? What excuse could he offer for the long slash across his abdomen or the stab wound in his shoulder?

He told her he didn’t want to ruin their perfect night. It wasn’t a lie, for once. She seemed disappointed for a moment, but as she slowly walked away from him, longing to go back, he couldn’t stop the proud grin from flashing across his face.


	3. Day 3- Heartbreak

“No, Matt. I’m not yours to protect.” Karen couldn’t even look at him as she spat out the words she knew were sharp enough to harm him.

He visibly drew back from her, his lip curling in disgust as he fully processed what she had said.

“How could you say that, Karen?” Matt asked, his throat clamping down into itself. “We’re always supposed to be there for each other.”

“Yeah, you’re right Matt. We are supposed to be there for each other.” She managed to finally look at him, an angry gleam in her eyes as she forced herself to harden towards him. “But you’re never there. You’re never here unless to scold me, and warn me about danger as if I don’t already know what I’m doing!”

Matt shook his head, turning his face away from hers as if that would stop her anger. “Karen, I’m sorry. But I can protect you, the Blacksmith is after you right now! How am I not supposed to worry?”

“Because we’re nothing to each other anymore. I want you to stay away from me.” She spat, doing her best to tear away at him. She just wanted him to stay away from her. After all the pain he had caused her.

After he had ignored Foggy and Karen’s work on the Castle case, coming up with strange excuses about a client who was paying him out the whazoo for seemingly no work, and continuously trying to make it up to her with small kisses on her head and false promises.

But most of all, after she had walked into his apartment, heart on her sleeve and ready to talk things out with him, she found a woman lying in his bed, smiling contentedly like the cat who had caught canary.

In that moment her heart had truly shattered. The way Matt had fumbled to make another excuse, reaching for her as if only his touch could make things better. The person she had trusted so deeply, had betrayed her so painfully she could barely look at him anymore.

“Fine. Go, Karen. If you’d rather hang out with a serial killer and get hunted by a madman than spend a single second with me, go ahead!” He snarled, her words making his heart ache.

“That should show you how much you mean to me now.” She gasped, stifling a sob. He could taste her tears in the air, and regret Bahamian to weigh down on his chest as she took further steps away from him.

“I’m… I’m sorry Matt. I just can’t bear to look at you anymore.” Karen sighed, wiping her tears away.

She didn’t wait for him to answer. She turned her back to him, and walked away, leaving him in the dust.

Karen had ripped his heart into shreds, wanting him to feel as pained as she did. It hadn’t helped her. Hadn’t helped at all.

As she left him there, standing in the street all alone, his shoulders sunken in and his head hanging low, she couldn’t have hated herself more.

“I’m sorry, Matt.” She muttered, turning to look at him one last time. “But just stay away from me.”


	4. Day 4-Growth (Parallels)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I think we can all agree this is the best one in the bunch. ;)

“She’s too good for me.” Matt’s doubts echoed inside his mind. “She’d never be able to understand Daredevil and all that I do.”

“He’s too good for me.” Karen thought bitterly, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. “He’d never be able to understand my past and what happened to Wesley.”

Matt Murdock. The lawyer dedicated to absolute justice, absolutely done by the book. He didn’t want her to “be the hero”. He didn’t want her to do what was necessary, because he was too good for the blood that was on her hands.

Karen Page. The assistant who couldn’t turn her back on someone in need even if she was held at gunpoint. The kindest woman he’d ever met, and all he could ever do was lie to her. Daredevil was not meant for the light, and hers was one that shone too bright.

At night, alone in her room Karen could feel the tears begin to pool, her throat start to close as thoughts of what she had done haunted her every waking moments.

Her shaking fingers find his name, the silly picture of him smiling goofily in her contacts causing a brief smile to flicker on her face. She presses the call button, her smile falling the longer the phone drolls on, the silence of her room stifling her in the darkness.

“Matt, why can’t you be here?” She gasps, sliding to the floor as she holds herself in her arms.

Dropping the phone to the ground, she stares at his smile, full of love and laughter. Wilson is lying dead on the table, blood gushing from the holes in his chest, and she can only turn her phone off as quickly as she can.

I’m too afraid to touch him, he’d only stain.

As his lip split open he thought, “Yes. This is what it is to feel.” Safe embraces and smiles of hope were not made for him. Cuts and bruises reminded him he was alive, the pleasant Thok! of teeth clacking together making him smile as his fist met a face in the only kiss he’d ever known.

And when he goes home, and all he has is the blood and the pain, he forgets why he does it all and only wishes to be in her arms.

With her he does not need to be alive. With her, as her smile surpasses the sun and her touches of sea breeze, he knows he is human again.

But when his phone tells him he missed her call, he finds himself shutting it off, hiding himself from her and her light. The scars on his fist and blood on his face tell him he can’t touch her, the fear he would feel in her sapping the last drop of life that made him human.

“I’m a monster, Karen.” He whispered as he put his phone down, collapsing on his bed as his body ached in searing pain, wanting nothing more than to feel her in his arms.

“Stay away from me…”

“Because I…”

“Because I…”

“Would only cause you pain.”


	5. Day 5- AU

People were always worried about the color blindness. For some, it was the thought of their true love’s death that frightened them the most, but for others, it was never being able to see the world in color again.

Matt had shaken with fear when he learned of the condition, as every single person had a fifty fifty chance of receiving it at any point in their life.

Walking home from school, waking up to your alarm clock, in the middle of a conversation, and then suddenly your whole world was differently. No more green trees, or golden sunrises. There would be no blue to the sky or pigment flush to people’s skin.

Only the same two colors, shown again and again in slightly different variants.

This was the worst fate eight year old Matt could imagine, until he was hit by a car.

Alone in his hospital bed, hundreds of heartbeats, screams, and cries of desperation invaded his head as soon as he opened his eyes. It felt like a hundred people were clamoring to get close to him, forcing themselves into his mind and against his body.

His screams were answered by the touch of a hand to his right arm, an unseeable entity grabbing at him.

“Matty, it’s alright. It’s me.” His father tried to soothe, the physical warmth of his hands pulling Matt away from the disembodied world that was swirling painfully inside of his head, screaming to be let out.

It didn’t take him long to find out he had been blinded, as his father lay sobbing into his blankets, mumbling his apologies.

Now, as Matt lay alone in his solitary world of black, he found he would have give anything for that one other color of white, and all the boring, beautiful variants that came in between.

He never gave a second thought about what his blindness would mean for his soulmate. In fact, he stopped worrying about his soulmate altogether. No one knew they had their soulmate until one of them died anyway, thanks to the ironic creator of this god forsaken Earth.

He thought for a time Elektra was his soulmate. Her fiery passion and love of life something powerful enough to burn him. And eventually, it did.

Now he had his best friend Foggy at his side, and nothing would stop them from moving forward.

“Nelson and Murdock!” Foggy exclaimed, staring giddily at the sign painted on their door’s window. “It was written in the stars my friend.”

“What? Like our true love?” Matt teased, laughing at Foggy’s grumpy sigh as he opened their door.

“Smartass.” He grumbled, but Matt could tell he was smiling.

Foggy had not been affected by color blindness. The world was still perfect to him, and it made Matt happy to know Foggy’s soulmate was still out there.

They avoided talking about such foolish things as True Love as much as possible, but it always seemed to come up when they were drunk.

“You’ve got nothing to worry about Foggy. Your girl’s still out there.” Matt grinned into his glass, shoving his shoulder into his friend’s. “It could be Josie for all we know.”

After Foggy made a show of making faces Matt had to pretend he couldn’t see, he clasped his hand around Matt’s shoulder. “You know, you always talk about True Love like yours is dead. You know she’s still out there, right?”

Matt sighed deeply, sipping from his beer. “You know we really don’t have to talk about this.”

“She’s out there Matty. You keep sleazing around with the girls we find at Josie’s and all your gonna get is an STD.” Foggy shuddered, clutching his cup.

Matt’s eyebrows furrowed. “How do you know Rebecca wasn’t my True Love?”

“Trust me, I know.” His friend affirmed, wide-eyed.

Matt had stopped believing in True Love. That was, until Karen Page fell into his life, alone, scared, and desperate.

After an attempt on her life, he and Foggy had managed to free her, escorting her back to their office as she was far too afraid to return home.

He could hear her heartbeat fluttering like a bird’s at every little noise she heard, her muscles tight and her breathing short.

“I’ll protect you Karen.” He promised. For the first time since meeting her she seemed to relax, her eyes like daggers on his skin, as if she could see right through him.

Their drive to his home was silent, but not uncomfortable. Matt felt a strange protectiveness for the girl the moment he met her. Something about her was mesmerizing to him.

She undressed in front of him, and he did not turn away. Whether it was to maintain the “facade” of his blindness, or for another entirely other, inappropriate reason, he didn’t want to find out.

“Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?” She shakily asked, buttoning his shirt up across her chest.

Matt realized then how strange it was for her to be there with him. Following him to his apartment alone, undressing in front of him, wearing his clothes…She must have felt the same connection to him as he to her.

“Was I always like this?” He asked for her, a smirk on his lips.

She laughed embarrassedly, falling down onto his couch. She was beyond tired, but her curiosity seemed to outweigh her need for sleep. “Yeah, sorry.”

“No it’s alright. People always ask me that.” He attempted to relax her, the tension in her body feasible from the kitchen. “That, and how do you comb your hair.”

She paused for a moment, smiling mischievously. “How do you comb your hair?”

Matt could feel the laughter bubble out of his throat before he knew what to do with it, the cheekiness from her answer surprising to him after having ever known her as frightened and quiet.

“Just hope for the best, I guess.” He smiled warmly, settling down next to her. He hadn’t expected the conversation to flow as easily as this.

They stayed in silence for a moment, just enjoying the sounds of each others breathing. He was grateful he had his glasses on, they were like a shield beneath her scrutinizing gaze.

“Is it…frightening to be blind?” She eventually asked, wrapped up in his shirt, clenching to it as if it were armor.

He sat across from her, her smell invading his senses so wonderfully he almost forgot to answer. He would have been surprised by how personal her question was but this feeling was something different than anything he’d ever felt before.

“It can be…sometimes.” Matt contemplated, sitting back into his couch. “Depends on the night.”

Karen’s blue eyes seemed to settle into his skin. She was studying him, each of her thoughts seeming to reverberate from her mind.

“Suddenly I find myself grateful.” She muttered, pulling her hair out of her face.

“Grateful that I’m blind?” The lawyer asked, a confused grin on his face. “Never heard that one before.”

“Oh! I’m sorry!” She apologized, hiding her face in her hands, an embarrassed smile on her face. “I’m Color Blind you see.”

Matt found himself taken aback by this. Something about Karen had made him assume she saw the world in color. Her life was so vibrant in his eyes she simply could not exist in a world devoid of such beauty.

“I wouldn’t know what that’s like.” Matt attempted to laugh it off, slightly awkward.

“It’s not the best, but it’s not the worst.” She sighed, resting her hand directly next to his own. “It’s just sad to think my True Love is gone.”

Matt could feel his heart clench for her. Something in him told him she was wrong. As soon as the words left her mouth he wanted to tell her that thought was a lie.

But he couldn’t. If she saw black and white that means they were dead. And it meant that he had been fooling himself about their “connection”. He felt the same clench again, wrong, it echoed, but he was too tired to try and dispute it.

“Oh, I see. I’m sorry for your loss.” He found himself apologizing, his hands itching to comfort her.

“Don’t be. I never knew them.” Karen said flippantly, turning away from him. He couldn’t control the sharp intake of air he took at her words, a feeling of sorrow pouring into him.

“Sorry. That was a bit cold.” She quickly realized, rubbing her eyes tiredly. “I just try to forget it. I think about it so much I’ve become desynthesized to the fact that someone actually died.”

“Your True Love.” He whispered with despair, this time moving his hand closer to hers. The tips of his fingers found their way to the back of her hand, aching to comfort her.

“Yeah.” She whispered back.

They stayed like that for a while. Both staring out into the dark emptiness in front of them, yearning for something they didn’t know they wanted. Her hand burrowed into his, wrapping their fingers together. “Thank you.”

He didn’t need to ask what for. Even just holding her hand had calmed the storm within his soul more since when he had first woken up at that hospital.

“Thank you.” He answered in return.

After that night they found themselves to be drawn impossibly closer together. They wanted to spend all their time together, both finding petty reasons to interrupt each other’s, which they always accepted gladly.

It was on a night of happiness, enjoying games of pool and beers together, just smiling and being happy all together, when it finally happened.

“Foggy you can’t play pool alone!” Karen laughed from her seat at the bar, almost falling off of her stool. Matt placed his hands around her elbows just in case she did take a tumble. Although, it would make a memory.

“Just watch me Kare-bear! You don’t know pool if you think I can’t.” He laughed back, stumbling around the game.

“It’s possible, yes, but it’s also just sad.” She giggled, downing the rest of her drink as she swiveled towards Matt. “Am I drunk?”

Matt bit back his laughter. “Maybe just a little.”

“Just a little.” She agreed, nodding as if she was deep in thought.

“Matt, what color are your eyes?” She asked, laying her head down on the bar, her golden hair flowing around her like a halo from heaven.

“Well, I haven’t checked in a while but I believe they’re hazel.” He smiled, laying his head down next to hers.

“Hm. Sounds nice.” She hummed lazily, resting her chin on her forearms. “If I could see the color in anything I’d want it to be in your eyes.”

Matt couldn’t help the blush that invaded his face at her words. “Why?”

“Because…” She paused for a moment, seemingly thinking long and hard. “Because I think they’d be the only color really worth seeing.”

He found his heart pounding against his chest, as if it was trying to escape into her arms, begging for her to accept him. The powerful force she seemed to have over him had only strengthened as time went on, and now, all he wanted to do was tell her how he felt.

“Are you sure your True Love’s dead?” Matt murmured to her just below the bar’s chatter, so that only she could hear him, together in their private world.

“Well I can’t see what color that neon sign is so I’m pretty sure.” She sighed, gesturing towards the sign reading “Josie’s” with the tip of her beer bottle.

“But what if… what if going blind causes it too?” He asked her, voice barely over a whisper.

Her eyebrows stitched together, as if she was confused by what he was saying. Her drunken haze seemed to lift the more she thought about his words though, before she turned sharply toward him, blushing uncontrollably.

“W-Why would you ask that?” She fumbled over her words, grip so tight on her bottle’s neck that if it could breathe she would be choking it to death.

Tentatively, he brushed a crooked finger down her cheek, relishing in the way she leaned into him. “Because you’re my True Love, Karen.”

Her face was blank for a moment, staring off into space as his words had yet to process, before she grabbed his wrist, clutching it for dear life. “What are you saying, Matt?”

“I’ve known you were my love the moment I first heard your voice. I love you Karen Page.” He grinned, curling a stray hair behind her ear. “I love you so, so much.”

“How can you know I’m your True Love? How can you say something like that so flippantly?” She asked, sobered by his drunken words. She ached to fall into him and believe his sweet words, but the world before her was a blatant contradiction to what he believed.

“don’t know if we really are soulmates Karen, and frankly, I could care less.” He declared boldly, stepping off his bar stool. “All I know is that I can’t spend another second of my life without you knowing how much you mean to me.”

“Matt…” She trailed off, the whole world stopping for her as she curled her hand into his. “I think I love you too.”

His heart clenched with a passion so powerful he had to take a breath before moving. He began to kiss the inside of her wrist to satiate the feeling of need coursing through his veins, a love far too good for him sketched in the lines of her face.

“How long?” He asked almost shyly, kissing down her forearm. Karen shivered before answering.

“Since that day in your apartment.”

“Me too.”

He had reached the crook of her elbow when her hand found its way into his hair, pulling him into her. “Then what are we waiting for?”

He grinned, wrapping his arms around her waist, brushing his lips down her cheek towards her mouth. The first time their lips met he thought he was going to faint. The second time he felt like he was flying.

Her tongue dabbed at his lip, a rush of blood filling his head as he opened his mouth for her. She tasted like honey, sweetness and warmth washing over his tongue as she pressed against him.

“I love you, Karen. God, I can’t stop saying it, I love you!” He exclaimed with a happiness he didn’t realize he had anymore. She laughed at his words, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“And I love you too, Murdock.”

They stood there for a moment, enjoying each other’s embrace, before the sound of a throat clearing had them jumping apart.

“Did I miss something?” Foggy asked, cocking his eyebrow at them as he twirled his pool stick.

“U-Uh, I guess a little.” Matt stuttered, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

“Yeah, just a little.” Karen agreed, finding his hand in her own.

“You guys are so weird.” Their friend laughed, grinning for them.

He had been waiting to damn long for this moment. Not that he’d ever let them know.


	6. Day 6- Hope

They had won. They had overcome their enemies, made it out in one piece, and won. Together the three of these seemingly nobody’s had taken down five of the biggest gangs in New York.

Lives had been lost along the way, but it hadn’t been in vain. Fisk was in jail, and all the others responsible were either on the run or in jail.

Matt looked around himself, and thought he couldn’t possibly have been any happier. The only two people he cared about in the world were safe and happy, standing right next to him, promising to never leave again.

The sun seemed to shine brighter than before as they shared a laugh, Foggy running off to go see Marcy, leaving Karen and him alone.

She was nervous for a moment, smiling at him so happily he felt his head would burst.

He offered her his hand, and she easily took it, as if that was where her hand had always meant to be.

“We won.” Their eyes said, bright with hope, and focused on their future.

“We won.” Her hand told him, squeezing gently.

“We won.” He answered back with his smile, taking their first steps into the future, together.

We’ve won, and we will never give up our victory.


End file.
